The Singing Meadow/Transcript

(Opening shot; fade in to a stretch of the sky. Jay Jay, Tracy and Snuffy are flying together; one by one they make their way o.s. Dissolve to Smiling Meadow in the distance as they make their way towards it.)

Narrator: One of the little planes' favorite places is Smiling Meadow— (Jay Jay and Snuffy over a multicolored smiling face.) —a meadow that seems to smile when the wind blows its flowers just the right way. (Tracy follows.) Smiling Meadow always made Tracy feel good.

(Head-on view of Jay Jay and Snuffy back in the air.)

Narrator: And on one particular day, she decided to go down for a closer look. (Tracy flies up to them.)Tracy: Hey, you guys. I'm going to go pick some flowers. Wanna come?Jay Jay: Uh...no thanks, Tracy. We promised Old Oscar we'd fly with him up to Frosty Pines. We'll see ya later!Tracy: Okay, bye! (They split up.)Jay Jay, Snuffy: Bye!

(Dissolve to an empty stretch; Tracy flies into view, zigzagging for a moment before barrel rolling out of frame. Another dissolve brings us to a small grove in the meadow as she taxis across.)

Narrator: Tracy had decided to pick flowers to give to Brenda Blue.Tracy: Hmm...she loves daffodils, but I don't see any around here. (She wanders off.)Narrator: So, she went to find some. (She searches by a foresty terrain.) She looked far and wide. In fact... (Now she comes to an empty grove.) She ended up in a whole new meadow filled with even more flowers.Tracy: Wow, I've never been over here before. It's got even more flowers than Smiling Meadow. (Something catches her eye; she gasps.) Daffodils! (Cut to said flowers; she continues o.s.) Just what I was looking for!

(The moment she approaches the flowers, in the distance comes a chorus of unknown voices humming a seven note phrase, which suddenly surprises her.)

Tracy: Huh? (gasps) Oh, what's that?

(The curious jet plane looks around, the voices humming a second phrase.)

Narrator: Suddenly, Tracy heard something very unusual. Something she'd never heard before.Tracy: It sounds like...some kind of singing. But where is it coming from? (She explores; the singing continues.)Narrator: Tracy looked everywhere for the source of the wonderful singing, but she couldn't find it.Tracy: Hel-looooo? I can't figure out who's singing, but that song is so beautiful. I have to sing along.

Lush orchestral ballad, slow 4 in time with humming noises (F major)

Tracy: Where does the music come from in such a mysterious way?(She taxies around the grove.)
Where does the humming hum from, I hope I can find it today

E flat major, modulating to D flat major

Tracy: Music that sails on air, it must be so close, but where?
It's one in a million mysteries, I hear it, so why can't I see?

F major

Tracy: Where does the music come from in such a mysterious way?
Where does the humming hum from, I hope I can find it today

Tracy: Sometimes the answer's in front of your nose
But sometimes the searching just goes and goes
'Til all of a sudden the answer shows

Strings/harp out, woodwinds in (F major)

Tracy: I wish it would be today

Song ends

(She taxis out of frame as she finishes; cut to another area of the meadow as comes into view. The humming noises have stopped.)

Tracy: It's gone! Oh, no! I never found out where the singing was coming from!Narrator: Yes. As suddenly as it had begun, the mysterious singing had stopped. So, Tracy decided to head back home, and boy, did she have a tale to tell everyone.

(She starts to leave on the end of this; cut to an establishing shot of Tarrytown Airport in the distance. The pink-violet plane works her way towards it. Later, she comes into view somewhere on the runway.)

Tracy: ...And then I finished singing with the music, and it stopped. (Pull back; Jay Jay, Snuffy and Herky are here.)Snuffy: And you never found out who's singing?Tracy: No.Herky: Or-r-r why they wer-r-re singing?Tracy: No, Herky.Herky: And you didn't see anybody in the meadow with you?Tracy: Uh-uh.Herky: This is a r-r-real myster-r-ry. Whaddya think, Jay Jay?Jay Jay: Well, we call Smiling Meadow "Smiling Meadow", because it smiles. Maybe this new meadow that you found, actually sings.Tracy: So you think maybe we should call it, "Singing Meadow"?Jay Jay: Why not?Snuffy: Tracy, can we go hear Singing Meadow?Tracy:(from o.s.) Sure. (Cut to her.) I can take you right to it.Jay Jay: Then, what are we waiting for? Let's fly!!

(A round of excited cheers of agreement from his friends; Tracy leads them out of the scene. Overview of the airport; one by one they take off.)

Narrator: So, they all headed right back to the place they now call "Singing Meadow".

(Cut to the sky; Jay Jay flies into view, his friends following behind him in a line as they swoop past one by one. From here, dissolve to the same grove Tracy discovered earlier; she enters, Jay Jay taxiing aside her, Snuffy and Herky entering moments later as they huddle up.)

Tracy: Well, here we are.Snuffy: So...how do you get the music started?Tracy: Hmm. I don't know.Herky: Are you sure ya hear-r-rd it her-r-re?Tracy: Yes.Jay Jay: Then, maybe we just have to wait. (Wide shot of the huddle.)Narrator: So, they did.

(The sound of a clock's ticking is heard faintly as the four planes start to wait patiently for the mysterious singing, the animation occurring in a series of dissolves that shifts the four in different positions around the grove. One final dissolve brings us to an overview; the following narration accompanies this montage.)

Narrator: They waited...and waited...and waited...and then, they waited some more. But after a long, long time, nothing happened.Snuffy: Are you... (yawns slightly) sure you heard singing coming from this meadow, Tracy?Tracy: Yes!Jay Jay: But...maybe it was the wind whistling through the trees.Herky: Yeah, and you only thought it was singing.Tracy:(shaking her head) Guys, I know what I heard! It was singing—real singing!Herky: Well, what do we do now?Jay Jay: Heyhey, I have an idea. Why don't we all split up and see if we can find out where the singing was coming from?Tracy: That's a great idea! The four of us should be able to cover enough of the meadow to find something.Herky: Sounds good to me!Jay Jay: Alright. I'll go north, Snuffy, you head south. Herky, you search off to the east and Tracy, you head west. Let's go!

(All four split up and head in their respective directions. Jay Jay however, is suddenly followed by Snuffy, who somehow managed to go the same way as him. The blue leader turns around to stop this sudden following.)

Tracy: I hope we can find something. I don't want everybody to think I imagined all this.

(Wipe to Jay Jay, scanning the ground in another area as he comes forward.)

Jay Jay: Hmm...now if I were a singing meadow, where would my song come from?

(In the distance, we hear humming—but this is not the chorus of seven note phrases that Tracy heard when she first came here. This humming as a slight buzz added to it, and it is humming a melody in the key of G major. Jay Jay stops to this other mysterious singing.)

Jay Jay: Huh? W-what's that? (He listens and gasps.) This must be what Tracy heard! I FOUND IT! TRACY, HERKY, SNUFFY!!!

(He quickly taxis back to the meeting place, the others come right up to him.)

Snuffy: What is it, Jay Jay?Jay Jay: I found the singing! Listen! (Short pause.)Herky: I hear-r-r it, it's coming from over-r-r ther-r-re!

(All three follow this other mysterious music until it gets louder. They stop one at a time in another part of the meadow as the sound of buzzing fades up.)

Jay Jay: Look. It's Billy Bee and Bobby Bee!

(Two bees come right for them on the end of this—the Bee Brothers, who happen to be the source of this other mysterious singing. They stop as they buzz forward.)

Billy Bee: Hi, everybody! (They flit over Jay Jay.)Bobby Bee: What'cha staring at us for? We're just gathering nectar and humming our favorite tune!Jay Jay: Were you two bees here earlier today? (Close-up of the Bee Brothers.)Billy Bee: Nope. We just got here.Bobby Bee: It's such a bee-utiful day, that we spent the whole morning over in Smiling Meadow. (Cut to a confused Tracy.)Tracy: Then they can't be the ones I heard. Besides, their humming—nice as it is—just doesn't sound the same as the singing I listened too. (to the bees) Sorry to bother you, boys. Have a nice day.Bobby Bee: Thanks, Tracy!Billy Bee: You too!Both: Bye! (They buzz away.)Snuffy: Now what do we do?Tracy:(pauses) We have to keep on looking.Jay Jay: Okay. Let's split up again.

(Again, he also turns and exits; wipe to an empty area of the meadow as he strives through.)

Narrator: So once again, everybody continued looking for the source of the mysterious singing.Snuffy:(yawns) Boy, I sure am getting tired of looking. If only I could just hear something.

(In the distance, a female voice is heard, humming the seven note phrases from when Tracy first discovered the meadow. Snuffy turns his head to the source of this and gasps softly.)

Snuffy: T-that's it! I hear the singing! Jay Jay! Herky! Tracy! (They join him.)Jay Jay: W-what is it, Snuffy?Snuffy: This time, I hear the singing! Listen!Female voice:(in distance) Sometimes the answer's in front of your nose
But sometimes the searching just goes and goes
'Til all of a sudden the answer showsTracy:(under previous) It's coming from over there! Come on!

(She leads her friends out of the picture; head-on view of the quartet as they slowly approach the screen and stop one by one.)

Tracy: Look!Herky: I r-r-really, r-r-really don't believe it!

(Their perspective; the source of this mysterious song is none other than...)

All four:(from o.s.) Brenda Blue?!

(She is here, kneeling down next to a cave smelling a picked flower she holds in one hand. A basket carrying a few sits next to her; she turns around.)

Brenda: Oh! Hi, guys! (The others approach.)Tracy: What are you doing here, Brenda?Brenda: Just picking some of these beautiful flowers for my workshop. What are you all doing her?Tracy: We wanted to see who was singing. Were you here this morning?Brenda: No. I just got here. (Tracy is confused again.)Tracy: So it wasn't you I heard this morning? (Cut to Brenda, who shakes her head; she continues o.s.) Well, somebody was singing— (Back to her.) —the same song as you! (Back to Brenda.) Where did you learn it?Brenda:(standing up) Ah. You must've heard the mysterious song of this meadow.All others: The mysterious song?!Brenda: Uh-huh. I used to hear it and wonder what it was. For weeks and weeks, it was a mystery to me, but I kept on searching until one day, I finally found where it was coming from.Tracy: Can you please tell us, Brenda? Pleeease?Brenda: No. (She picks up her basket; shocked silence from the others.)All others: No?!Brenda: No. How about if I show you, instead? (Cheers of agreement from the others.) Okay, then. Follow me.

(She walks o.s., and the others follow. Cut to an area of the meadow as she sneaks past, Snuffy following.)

Brenda: Shh. Listen.

(A chorus of humming noises is heard, and these are the ones that Tracy heard when she first came to the meadow, using the same seven note phrases as before and by Brenda. Snuffy goes past, the other three follow up behind.)

(Cut to Brenda, standing before a rocky wall coated with pink flowers; scattered across them is a swarm of hummingbirds feeding on their pollen. Snuffy comes close.)

Snuffy: Look!Brenda: Here we are! This is where the singing is coming from. (Tracy, Jay Jay and Herky join.)All others: Hummingbirds! (Close-up of the wall.)Tracy:(from o.s.) The sound I heard was hummingbirds!

(Zoom in slowly on the wall, cutting to a close-up of three of the hummingbirds.)

Narrator: Yes. The music Tracy heard was caused by swarms of hummingbirds gathering nectar from the many pretty flowers right in this very spot. (One hummingbird flits close to the camera.) The beautiful humming sound— (Cut to Tracy; the hummingbird flits over her.) —was being made by their wings flapping quickly in the wind.Brenda: You see, Tracy, the song I was singing is one I wrote. It's called "The Hummingbird Song". Would you like to sing it with me?Tracy: Would I!

(Brenda smiles in turn; cut to frame the whole group.)

Same lush, orchestral ballad as Tracy's music hunting song, but with a brighter, more energetic arrangement; slow 4, triplet feel (F major)

All five: Where does the music come from
In such a mysterious way?(Close-up of Jay Jay, head raised heavenward to the source of music.)
Where does the humming hum from
I'm glad I found it today

E flat major

(Close-up of Snuffy, who aims a happy smile toward the camera.)

All five: Somebody else may help you go
Sometimes it may seem awfully slow(Another close-up brings us to Brenda, before cutting to a wide shot of the quintet.)
But finding will come at last to those

F major

All five: Who listen most carefully

Song ends

Tracy: Oh! You were right, Jay Jay. There always is an answer to a mystery. You just have to keep trying to find it.Jay Jay: That's right!Narrator: So, from now on, the planes would call this place "Singing Meadow", after the pleasant sounds of the hummingbirds that they always hear there. (Close-up of Tracy.) And once again, Tracy and the other little planes had learned that nature is indeed full of surprises.

(A smile plays across the light violet jet plane's face, and the view fades to black.)